Outside the Beltway

Is it time to reexamine Presidential authority to launch a nuclear strike?

President Trump returns home from an Asian trip that wasn’t exactly impressive.

A Federal Judge in Washington, D.C. has blocked the Trump Administration from implementing its ban on transgender soldiers.

Despite the fact that everyone seems to agree that Iran is complying with the nuclear weapons deal, President Trump took steps that will undermine that agreement and do serious damage to American credibility around the world.

Tensions continue to rise between the White House and Foggy Bottom.

A new poll shows, unsurprisingly, that the vast majority of Americans see Donald Trump as a divider rather than a uniter

Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer poked fun at himself on last night’s Emmy broadcast, and the political pundits are all in pearl-clutching mode because of it.

More provocative action from North Korea, and another reminder that there are no easy answers to the problems represented by the Kim regime.

Contrary to reports, Secretary of Defense Mattis is not defying the President on his order to bar transgender Americans from serving in the military.

Another Cabinet member rebukes the President for his comments about Charlottesville.

Donald Trump’s Secretary of State is refusing to defend his response to the violence in Charlottesville.

President Trump’s Afghanistan policy sounds awfully familiar, and it’s likely to lead to the same results.

Donald Trump’s core supporters in the Republican Party remain intensely loyal, and that seems unlikely to change.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff are making clear that President Trump’s tweets are not official policy. At least not yet.

More provocation from Pyongyang.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is apparently chafing under a White House that isn’t letting him do his job.

Donald Trump’s first Cabinet Meeting looked like something out of a Maoist propaganda video.

After 100 days in office, President Trump has very little to show for his work except to show that there’s no reason to trust his judgment going forward.

A majority of Americans support last week’s airstrikes in Syria but are skeptical of any expansion beyond that.

Trump appears to undervaluing existing bureaucracies listening more to hacks and ideologues.

A new Pentagon proposal would place more discretion in the hands of field commanders, removing the need for Presidential approval.

The head of the biggest energy company in the world is reportedly Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of State.

Three of the top four national security positions in Donald Trump’s Cabinet will be filled by retired Generals. This isn’t necessarily a good thing.

I’m in the New York Times’ “Room for Debate” with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Duke’s Peter Feaver.

Four U.S. citizens on a yacht hijacked by Somali pirates last week are dead. American military have killed the pirates.

The commander-in-chief, secretary of defense, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff all support removing the ban on gays in the military without further delay. A long-awaited Pentagon study showed no reason not to do so. But three of four Service chiefs disagree.

Of the U.S. military’s 10 combatant commands, only three are held by Army or Marine generals.

General James Mattis, who some feel was snubbed for Marine Commandant last month, has landed in arguably a more important role: succeeding David Petraeus at CENTCOM.